Canadians rate foreign demand for our plentiful fresh water as one of the biggest threats to sovereignty, according to Department of National Defence research. Parliament eight years ago passed a private Conservative bill banning the bulk export of Canadian water: "Fresh water could make the country a target for future conflict."
A cabinet bill on paid sick leave that was pushed through Parliament as a Covid emergency will not fully take effect for 17 months. Hurried passage prompted Senate grumbling that scrutiny of pandemic measures had become a “rubber stamping process.”
Public hearings of the Freedom Convoy inquiry will be livestreamed on the internet for all Canadians to see regardless of whether TV networks broadcast proceedings. Internet publication of cabinet secrets is still under review, said the Public Order Emergency Commission: "Yes, the Commission plans to stream all its public hearings."
Covid lockdowns sharply cut church attendance, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The Public Health Agency within days of the pandemic’s outbreak recommended cancellation of masses and prayer meetings: "Some people reported that because of the pandemic they prayed more or their faith got stronger."
Prosecution of tax cheats takes too long, says a Canada Revenue Agency report. Auditors warned the Agency runs a risk of seeing scofflaws beat criminal charges due to lengthy delays: "Cases rarely go to trial within eighteen months."
Elections Canada paid researchers more than $84,000 for personality profiles of federal voters. Working-age women are typically “planners” while rural Canadians are "in control as opposed to stressed,” said a report: "Personas were born out of conversations with Canadians who shared their opinions."
The next three years will determine whether the Canadian TV system survives, says a CRTC report. Research pointed to loss of viewership and advertising to internet broadcasters like Netflix and YouTube: "How much time do we have? Best guess given current trends: three years."
The Department of Health lost track of thousands of computers under haphazard IT management, say auditors. The department's Public Health Agency was earlier cited for keeping inventory by hand at nine warehouses leased to stockpile emergency pandemic supplies: "With hindsight would I have liked it to have been different?"
Saving the French language is fundamental to preserving the nation, says a federal briefing note. A cabinet bill pending in the Commons promotes use of French-language computers and French-speaking managers in the federally regulated private sector: "The French language is threatened."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday: “Election time in the City of Ottawa. I check the list of candidates. They all promise the same as others before them: more jobs, better roads, low taxes…”
Claims of economic damage from Freedom Convoy protests were so inflated cabinet couldn't give away half the millions it budgeted to compensate businesses, records show. One compensation fund saw 82 percent of grant money go unclaimed: "Up to 1,900 businesses in Ottawa could potentially receive support."
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino yesterday said he was careful to avoid any interference in the federal appointment of a personal friend as a judge. “I recused myself,” said Mendicino.
The Commons foreign affairs committee today convenes rare July hearings into cabinet waivers on sanctions against Russia. Opposition MPs demanded the committee meet ahead of Sunday protests on Parliament Hill: "Canada has failed to step up."
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday said she will rewrite portions of a luxury tax that lobbyists called a job killer. The ten percent tax on private aircraft over $100,000 was to take effect September 1: "If you’re selling fewer aircraft you’re manufacturing fewer aircraft, you have fewer jobs."
Cabinet members' Speaking Points must avoid jargon and acronyms especially in Question Period, says an Access To Information guide for political ghostwriters. Staff are also instructed to deflect questions by reciting past achievements or finding an "alternate angle."
